OMM Newsroom
Kazakhstan’s security service has detained Nurlan Jakupov, head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, on suspicion of corruption. Yelzhas Otynshiyev, chairman of the management board of Kazakhstan’s national railway company KTZ, has also been detained.
Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, the country’s domestic intelligence agency, said both men were detained on Wednesday, November 11, on suspicion of corruption, AnewZ reports.
Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov criticized the sovereign wealth fund last week over delays in implementing investment projects. According to state news agency Kazinform, Bektenov instructed the fund’s management to strengthen oversight of deadlines and increase local procurement.
In late October, Bektenov dismissed Kairat Maksutov as chairman of the management board of Samruk-Energy, citing insufficient oversight of the construction and commissioning of new power plants.
Samruk-Energy, the country’s largest electricity producer, is owned by the Samruk-Kazyna fund.
Jakupov, 46, became head of Samruk-Kazyna in April 2023. Since May 2025, he has also chaired the board of directors of Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas company KazMunayGas.
Otynshiyev became chairman of KTZ’s management board in July 2026. KTZ is wholly owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
